My bad.

Simply put, Jac Caglianone, the Kansas City Royals super-slugging prospect turned big-leaguer as of last week, missed one.

No, it wasn't a breaking ball in the dirt or a fat fastball right down the middle -- he hits those and often quite far. This was a certified autograph card in a jumbo box of 2025 Bowman. Err, well, it was supposed to be ... and then it ended up in a pack.

Not long before his arrival, White Plains, N.Y-based dealer Valor Sportscards found the card in a pack during a break and was shocked by its bold, un-inked glory. Ironically, not long after that, though, the Fanatics Live breaker was in Omaha for Caglianone's Triple-A debut and to bust open packs along with the soon-to-be big-leaguer

That's where he took care of business.

Continue reading →

There's been plenty of focus on ballots -- justifiably as it's November in a presidential election year -- but Buzz completed a collecting project this week that was all about them. It's one that's easy to do in whatever way you want to do it ... and without breaking the bank.

What was it? I completed a career run of my player's appearances on MLB All-Star ballots -- and I did it with just a couple clicks.

It's complete by year but I'm still at least one ballot short of a master list -- at least that as I know of thanks to those pesky parallels that are apparently a thing here, too. Some years have a ballpark version of the ballot and then a sponsored one to be found out there in the real world. Why? Well, back in the day voting wasn't exclusively done online, so selected companies would have ballots at their stores. For example, for some odd reason way, way, back in the 1990s I remember MLB ballots at Subway, but that doesn't apply here ... not this time.

Continue reading →

From time to time, Buzz will break a box of something and post the results here. Like this and want to see more? Or maybe there's a box you'd want to see busted? Send Buzz an email at BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com.

The pack: 2024 Gummy Arts trading cards
Where to buy: Right here (when available)

What's this? Keep reading to see what was found in this one ...

Continue reading →

Have you looked at your 2024 Bowman card backs yet?

It's fine if you haven't -- we know you're busy looking for the new big names, their colorful Chrome parallels and, of course, their autographs -- but for years now there have been tons of trivial nuggets that appear on cards that can be downright odd.

They're found on the "Up Close" blurbs across all base and prospect cards in this release -- and plenty of past ones -- and after ripping my first blaster of the year I did my check for them ... and again they delivered ... even with a small sample size.

The Adley Rutschman card above was perhaps the standout of the small bunch in my box with "bountiful hugs," the origin of "Rooster" as part of a Top Gun: Maverick name-drop and a nod to family sports, too. They're not all that jam-packed, but every card has Up Close details from what I've seen this year.

Let's take a look at 20 more card backs from 2024 Bowman cards ...

Continue reading →

These were too weird to not grab -- and the bigger the better.

My latest item in this Collecting Game-used series is not game-used and they're a bit of a mystery, too, despite coming from a reputable source and straight from an NBA team.

The image above? Well, that kind of says it all -- it's a pair of Detroit Pistons Crocs made for the NBA Paris Game in 2023 -- but to put this one in perspective, well, just see the next image.

Continue reading →

From time to time, Buzz will break a box of something and post the results here. Like this and want to see more? Or maybe there's a box you'd want to see busted? Send Buzz an email at BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com.

The pack: 2021 Panini Phoenix football cards (Fire Burst factory set with bonus pack)
First Buzz preview: Click here
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (for other formats)

Keep reading for a full breakdown and gallery of what was in this one.

Continue reading →

It's not a card that will make you rich, it's not one that will change your life -- but it's one that is a bit of a finale while also being a first.

It's a Rookie Card -- and it finishes up a tale that started, for me, months ago when I documented the cardboard enigma that is Chris Boucher, a center for the Toronto Raptors who has had quite a journey to an everyday spot in the league and and an odd one when it comes to cardboard.

His first season? Not one card -- but that made sense as he played just one minute in one game, though there are players who have done less and had more cardboard. His second season? Nope, not at least until the season was over.

Keep reading for the details of this oddity.

Continue reading →

Minor league cards can include some weird stuff ... stuff you wouldn't imagine to be found on a baseball card and here are five example of some oddities in this latest MiLB Madness series item. 

BARBEQUED BASEBALLS?
The Card: Nate Alleyne 2018 Grandstand San Jose Giants #34
The Buzz On This One: We'll just accept it as a given that a clubhouse manager needs a baseball card -- it happens in the minors -- but what might lead one to be grilling a baseball on a card? You know ... I have no idea but here it is. You know what's weirder? The fact that this guy has multiple baseball cards where he's toting water bottles and one where he's running a vacuum cleaner at home plate. The year before this one? Golfing with a baseball. Don't believe me? Click here.

Keep reading for four more examples of weird baseball cards you can (almost) only find in MiLB.

Continue reading →

Do you like Buzz Breaks? Today's your day then as we launch 8 in 8 -- a series of a eight breaks of wax boxes and wax packs in as many hours today. We'll post one every hour ... this is Hour 7.

The pack: 2021 Gummy Arts trading cards
The cost: $15 (here when available)

What's inside this one? Keep reading ...

Continue reading →

From time to time, Buzz will break a box of something and post the results here. Like this and want to see more? Or maybe there's a box you'd want to see busted? Send Buzz an email at BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com.

The box: 2021 Gummy Arts trading cards (two packs)
Where to buy: Right here (when available)

What's this? Keep reading to see what was found in two packs of this one ...

Continue reading →

Silent Bob would be proud of this pack of Mallrats.

Sometimes when you think you've seen it all in card collecting, it just takes a glimpse into the bargain bin to discover something that's been there waiting for you for years. This time? Well, it's an oddity that Buzz found in a recent buy of some MiLB team sets.

It's a Sport Pro set for the 1989 Spokane Indians ... a simple 26-card release for the San Diego Padres' A-ball affiliate at the time -- a championship squad no less -- where the players, coaches and manager you will know all went to the University City Mall to take their baseball card photos.

No, really. They went to the mall.

The mall is no more -- it was demolished back in 2015 after a 50-year run (for those who don't know what a mall is, go ask your parents) -- but the cardboard lives forever because of some memorably stupid scenes that make for cardboard treasure if you ask me.

Outfielder Brian Span's card from his second and final season as a pro -- he hit just .213 for Spokane that summer -- is a textbook example of the oddities in this set. He's posed with a cardboard cutout of Whitney Houston holding a big bag of tapes (Too early for CDs, right?) from DJ’s Sound City, a chain described as "a fixture in Spokane's Music Market for almost 20 years." Its mall shops died in 1996 citing "stiff competition with discount stores and decreased traffic at music stores in malls."  (Just wait for iTunes and iPods, guys.)

There are other cameos and other cards that will make you want to go shopping right now and grab an Orange Julius before you hit the arcade. Keep reading among the cardboard oddities that can offer a trip back in time.

Continue reading →

Times have changed a ton when it comes to collecting -- even in the last 10 years -- but a new mailday that just arrived included something I hadn't seen before in years of collecting

Sealed packs -- specifically some old mis-wraps of an old premium brand -- as box filler instead of packing peanuts.

Now, that might be common here and there in small instances -- especially for some especially unworthy-of-opening years like 1991 Fleer -- but this time? Well, it was just a little different.

Continue reading →

The headline says it all here, though I'll admit that this one is firmly written tongue in cheek because I'm not 100 percent sure if that is the answer.

But what I do know is that entertainer and Toronto Raptors superfan Drake can be found on a card in packs of 2019-20 NBA Hoops -- you know, the first set of the year where collectors could chase Zion Williamson Rookie Cards in his NBA uniform.

You'd think that Drake might have shown up on cards before -- it's possible he has and I just don't know -- but he's definitely there on one card in the release. Keep reading for the details ...

Continue reading →

"I hope at least $20."

That was Francisco Lindor's answer to a young Cleveland Indians fan who asked "What's your signature worth?" in a new installment of an MLB-produced video series called Questions & Autographs.

The Q&A is one where he signs autographs from a pack of kids and takes their questions. It's a clearly marketing-friendly piece that could, however, interest some fans and collectors out there.

Check it out after the jump.

Continue reading →

Colt McCoy didn't have a good day on Sunday, making just this third NFL start of the last five years -- it ended with 119 yards, a pick, two fumbles and six sacks against the reigning Super Bowl champs -- but it was enough to remind me of an old story that I don't think has ever been told before.

Or, if it has, I totally missed it ... so work with me here.

It was a decade ago when McCoy was finishing up his second season of being a top-three guy in Heisman voting -- a star for the Texas Longhorns where he threw 27 touchdowns as a senior, upping his career total to 112 (to just 45 picks) in four years, ending his career with 13,253 yards and a collection of awards and team records that might even make Nick Saban blush.

But when it came to signing autographs after all that? Well, he was still a rookie and his 2010 Panini Prestige Pro Helmets Autograph card shows how.

Continue reading →

It's been a couple years since we last abused some baseball cards using FaceApp, but the face-altering fun app that takes your photos and uploads them to who knows where before altering them for your amusement is back, offering new ways to tweak images.

Since it's been going viral of late, Buzz picked off a few cards from recent years and some others from the past for a new batch ... check 'em out.

Continue reading →

The Blowout Cards Forums are where thousands of collectors converge daily to discuss, well, a little bit of everything. Here are a few threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.

What's Buzzing Today: NFL cards that never were, big new pulls from the NFL, WWE and more in today's edition.

Continue reading →

This one is admittedly off the radar of many collectors, but they might be drawing a few more fans from beyond the typical card crowd soon.

"They" are Beau and Bryan Abbott -- aka the Baseball Card Vandals -- and they're got a new book coming on March 5. Baseball Card Vandals: Over 200 Decent Jokes on Worthless Cards! will showcase a good chunk of their original art all in one place -- and all of them started with an old trading card from the past.

Their "decent jokes on worthless cards" are "posted fresh daily" on Instagram and on their website (FYI: some doodles can be NSFW), and it's something that they've been doing since 2012. They've carefully crafted more than 4,500 pieces in that time and they almost always sell out at $35 a pop every day.

The news of the book (it's under $20) recently prompted Buzz to take a look at what might be up for grabs, and I dug cheap to find a cheaper specimen that evoked a chuckle from me back when I first saw it.

Continue reading →

Ever have one of those times where you open a pack of cards, notice something weird and it bugs the crap out of you enough that you just have to drop everything you're doing and research your enigmatic find?

This is one of those times -- and you can blame T.J. Yeldon and his 2018 Score football card.

That exact card you can see above. Keep reading to see if you, too, can spot what I noticed.

Continue reading →

Have you seen the latest crazy items on eBay? If not, you just might see some of those here every week as we're launching a weekly version of our eBay Buzz pieces that pop up from time to time. We’ll spotlight some items that have a story or just wow us with how much interest it might have — and we’re not just talking baseball cards, either.

--

THE NEW 2018 BOWMAN MEGA BOX MYSTERY
The Item: A redemption for a Shohei Ohtani 2018 Bowman Chrome auto from a 2018 Bowman Mega Box (What?)
The Price: $2,075 after 23 bids with six-plus days remaining
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: What is this? The only Shohei Ohtani card on the checklist for these Target-exclusive boxes is a ROY Favorites insert -- and he's not even listed as having an auto there. Could this just be that? It's not noted that way, meaning ... could it be one of his standard autos? Could it be a Kanji auto? Could it be (somehow?) the Superfractor hiding in the mix of cards set aside for these boxes? Maybe, maybe not ... (Update: Topps has announced that these are only for his standard Chrome autos and "a limited number are available.")
Similar Pieces: Check out these Shohei Ohtani Bowman autos
The BlowoutCards.com Hunt: Click here for 2018 Bowman boxes

Keep reading for four more interesting items in this week's roundup ...

Continue reading →

Have you looked at your 2018 Bowman card backs yet?

We're a week into the release of the first prospecting baseball card brand of the year and there are a number of oddities to be discovered on the cards in this set ... if you choose to flip them over and read the "Up Close" blurbs.

One of the weirdest revelations -- one that will also appear on the back of his Superfractor auto if it's found (the $75,000 offer still stands, too) -- is the fact that Shohei Ohtani doesn't have a driver's license. (The fact that the modeled his hitting after Hideki Matsui isn't surprising given his first month in the majors.)

That's not the only weird fact on the backs of some 2018 Bowman baseball cards ...

Continue reading →

If you're a long-time reader of The Buzz, then you've seen this card before, but with the Super Bowl last night in Minneapolis there was a reason for it to hit The Buzz's Twitter Machine, too.

It's a 1992 Pro Line Profiles card for Hall of Famer Howie Long, and it was among the few tweets in an 11-hour marathon for Super Bowl LII last night simply because of the tree-climbing kid on the right.

Why? That's Eagles defensive end Chris Long, who was roughly six years old at the time of this family portrait that made its way to cardboard -- and that's far from the only piece of trivia here.

Continue reading →

If you're a regular reader of The Buzz, then you probably know about WWE Slam Crate and have seen the contents of each previous crate broken down right here. 

But you haven't seen an assessment like this as WWE Raw women's champion Alexa Bliss recently visited the company's headquarters in Bell, Calif, and just isn't having what she's seeing in the subscription boxes.

Check it out ... just for fun.

Follow Buzz on Twitter @BlowoutBuzz or send email to BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com. 

>> Click here to buy wrestling cards on BlowoutCards.com

You probably know Aaron Judge by now. After all, he's tied for the MLB lead with 15 home runs, is the 6-foot-7 young face of the New York Yankees and on the cover of Sports Illustrated.

But in an alternate reality -- and an alternate reality with baseball cards -- none of this would have happened. He'd be playing somewhere else.

You probably didn't know -- this collector didn't -- that Judge was once a draft pick of the Oakland A's, the Moneyballing squad that ultimately sends all of its star players to the Yankees anyway and gets its playoff hopes dashed by Yankees stars and unlikely plays that will never, ever go away. (They even start off movies made about the A's.)

Continue reading →

There's a new phone app that allows you to turn that frown upside down, get younger or get older all with a click on a screen,

It's called FaceApp and it's a free download for iPhone users to have some fun -- and naturally this collector instantly thought of baseball cards.

Continue reading →